There was no answer.
Lenox had pushed the doorbell several times and knocked even more, but Staci did not respond from within her apartment. He had told her that he would be by in the morning to pick her up. He looked at his watch, wondering if he was too early.
No, he decided. Something was wrong.
Groh and Yorke were already at the police station, going over Cain’s files, searching for clues as to the killers identity. They hadn’t come out to pick up Staci without his knowledge. They knew there was something going on between him and Staci and they wouldn’t interfere with that.
Staci also would not have left her apartment without telling him. She would be expecting him. Why would she leave?
Unless someone made her leave.
Lenox withdrew his gun and kicked the door without hesitation. The door flung open and slammed against the wall. He held out his hand to keep the door from bouncing back and entered the apartment. With his gun leading the way, he searched the apartment, but there was no sign of Staci anywhere inside. There was also no sign of a struggle.
That bothered him.
He stood in the kitchen, trying to think of his options. On the floor in front of the door to the apartment was Staci’s purse. He walked over to it and picked it up. He knew that Staci wouldn’t just drop her purse on the floor. Someone had to have knocked on the door…She opened the door…And then she dropped her purse.
Why?
Did her sudden disappearance have anything to do with the Cain case? If it did, no one knew she was consulting Lenox and the detectives…except for one other person.
Lenox took out his cell phone and speed-dialed Groh.
Groh responded on the first ring. “Yo.”
“Where is Sebastian Crowe?” Lenox asked.
There was a pause. “You want to know where Blackbird is? What for?”
“Because I believe he’s your killer…and he’s got Staci.”
Marc “Fury” Shiva headed into the Federal Building. He carried with him a cardboard tray with four cups of coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts. As he headed for the security desk to gain entrance into the building, he noticed that a stocky, bald man was approaching him.
“Excuse me,” the man said.
As an ex-wrestler, Shiva sized the man up as if he were about to go into the ring with him. The man wore a short sleeve, blue shirt and jeans. The sneakers looked comfortable, and he walked in them as if he was accustomed to run at any given notice. In fact, he carried himself like a cop. He held a jean jacket on his arm. Because he did, Shiva noticed a tattoo of what looked like a police badge on the inside left arm. There was another tattoo on the man’s right arm, but the jacket covered most of it. Shiva couldn’t tell what it was.
“What can I do for you?” Shiva asked curiously.
“I’m looking for someone, and I was hoping you could help me.”
Shiva stopped and regarded him. “Not to be impolite, but what makes you think I can help you find who you’re looking for?”
The man extended his hand out. In it was a card.
Shiva took it and looked at the card. It simply said, Mickey Stone, Private Investigator. He regarded the man. “Nice card…but you didn’t answer my question.”
“You work with the man I’m looking for,” Stone replied.
“How do you know that?”
“You’re a special agent with the ATD. Your name is Marc Shiva. You used to wrestle professionally, and well, too…until you got burned. Someone who didn’t want you in the profession set you up for a fall and you were ousted. A guy named Michael Lenox came around and he helped to clear your name of the charges against you. And now, years later…you work for the government. And so does the guy I’m looking for.”
Shiva paused. “Where did you get this information?”
Stone shrugged. “I’m a private investigator. It’s what I do.”
“So why are you looking for Knox? Are you working on a case he’s involved in?”
“The reason I’m looking for him is confidential. And I’m not looking for Knox.”
“If you’re not looking for Michael Lenox, then who are you looking for?”
“Albert Barrington.”
“Why?”
“That’s between me and him.”
Shiva shook his head. “Bear’s a friend of mine. If there’s trouble, I want to know about it.”
Stone looked at him. “Does confidentiality mean anything to you?”
Shiva let out a sigh and shook his head. “I can’t help you.”
“Look, just give him my card. My cell number is on it. Tell him to call me.” Stone leaned forward. “Can you at least do that?”
“What if he doesn’t call you?”
“If I don’t get a call from him soon, I’ll be back. And I may not be nice about it.”
Shiva almost laughed. “This is a Federal Building, man. What are you going to do? You try anything in here, you’ll be taken down faster than you can blink.”
“I know my way around, Fury.” He nodded once to him. “I’ll see you soon.” He turned and walked away.
Shiva watched him go. He looked at the card and then headed toward the security desk. He couldn’t help but wonder why a private investigator was looking for Barrington.
A crowd of people gathered together on the beach at Verdana Lake. The weather was warmer than it had been in days, and King was grateful for that. Even so, the water was cold when at first he waded into it. As he got used to the temperature of the lake, he looked at the people on the beach. He was about to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. His heart was filled with joy.
Saint and his wife, Chris, stood together on the deck. Saint was playing his guitar and leading the gathering into praise and worship. As the singing was lifted heavenward, there were only a few people at the rear of the crowd who were not singing.
Three of them were Amber, Bollinger, and Sheriff Hoag.
At the front of the crowd, Chase and Moore were already standing ankle deep in the water. They lifted their voices in song, thinking only of the step they were about to take.
After the singing, King spoke by quoting a passage of scripture from the Bible. “‘And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. 1’ "
King regarded the gatherers. Then, he said, “Why do we require baptism? What is its purpose?” He paused. “Is it necessary? Is it something that we must do to gain eternal life? These are some of the questions that many people ask themselves when they think about baptism. Yet in order to understand baptism, there is another question that must be answered first.” Again, he paused. “Am I saved? Because before baptism must come salvation. If someone were to ask you if you were saved, what would you tell them? Let’s say that you said, ‘Yes.’ Then, they asked you…How do you know that you are saved? What would your answer be then?” He made eye contact with those before him.
“Salvation is something that every single one of us must be certain about,” he continued. “I can ask you, how do you know? And perhaps you would start by telling me where you got saved, or when. But not how. You see…just because you know how to get to Maine doesn’t necessarily mean that you are in Maine. Then you can tell me that you are saved because you believe. But the Devil believes, too. He believes and yet we know that he is not saved. But if you tell me that you know you are saved because you love the Lord and have a desire for His Word, and because He has changed your life, then I would call you my brother…or my sister. Being saved must mean there is a change in you. You become a person who is no longer the person you were. You become receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. You begin to walk as a disciple of Christ and you begin to bear fruit. A person who is not saved can believe, but he is offended easily by the Gospel and bears no fruit.
“So before baptism…there must be salvation.
“Jesus Himself was baptized, was He not? And He was baptized so that we would follow in His footsteps. He was giving us an example of His death, His burial, and His resurrection, and when we are baptized, we are following that example.” He quoted another passage of scripture. “‘Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2’ ”
King smiled. “So today, we are here to be baptized. I believe in my heart that God has led us directly to this place so that we can do His will. Many of us - if not all - have indeed been saved. And it is my prayer that all of us will be saved. To you who truly are, here is water. What, then, hinders you from being baptized?” He waved a hand at Chase. “Come, my brother. If you are ready to be baptized, then come forward.”
Chase didn’t have to be told. He ran toward King, splashing water high and bringing laughter from the gathering. When he was next to King, Saint led them all into more singing. As their voices were lifted in praise, Chase was the first to be baptized. As he was coming out of the water, a big smile was spread across his face. He didn’t even notice Moore going into the water next, and someone handed him a towel.
As he wiped his face and then rubbed at his head, he moved to the back of the crowd. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to turn and look. Bollinger was walking away from the gathering, his steps seemed to be hurried. Curious, he began to follow.
Hoag was also curious. He looked around at the others before him, listening to them as they sang. Then, he turned around and followed Chase.
Not long after that, Amber left the gathering unnoticed as well.
Shiva found Director Fuller in his office with Fronk and Erin. He set the tray of coffee down onto the desk and, after a brief greeting, he asked, “Where’s Bear?”
“He’ll be in shortly,” Fuller responded.
Shiva handed him the card he received before he came to Fuller’s office. “Well, there’s a private investigator asking about him. He gave me his card. Do you have any idea why a P.I. would be looking for him?”
Fuller looked at the card and shook his head. “I don’t know.” He handed the card to Fronk. “William, can you check into this guy and see what comes up?”
“Mickey Stone,” Fronk replied thoughtfully, glancing at the card. “Certainly, my good man! I’ll look into this mans background, and I assure you, I will leave no pebble unturned!”
Erin grinned at him.
Shiva took one of the coffee’s from the tray and found a seat on the sofa against the wall. “So, Director…what is this meeting about? You said it was urgent.”
Fuller shrugged helplessly. “It is urgent. Any time we are dealing with Ed Carr, it’s urgent. He’s the one who actually wanted to meet with us.”
“And you agreed?”
“I did. It’s better to know what he’s up to than to find out later when it can hurt us. But before we get into it, I want to wait for Bear. He should be on his way.”
“Unless he’s intercepted by Samuel Stone,” Erin pointed out.
Fuller looked at Shiva. “Did this guy look like trouble to you?”
Shiva leaned forward and sipped his coffee. “He insisted on meeting with Barrington and that it was a private matter. Other than that, that’s all I really know. He seems like a decent enough guy, but it’s hard to tell on first impressions, you know?”
“Is he bigger than you?” Fronk asked suddenly.
Shiva frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“If you got into a ring with him, could you take him?”
The ex-wrestler just looked at him.
“Well, could ya, Fury? Inquiring minds want to know.”
“William…” Fuller shook his head. “You had updates on your computer you wanted to show me?”
“Absopositivelutely, I did.”
“Let’s go to your office and you can show me…before Marc hurls you out through my window.”
Fronk did his best to look shocked. “No! Certainly he wouldn’t hurl me!”
Shiva nodded seriously. “Sure, I would.”
Fronk turned to Fuller as he headed for the door. “Right this way, Director.”
Fuller nodded once and turned to Shiva and Erin. “You wait in here for Albert. This won’t take long.”
Fuller and Fronk left the office.
Shiva sat back, glanced at Erin and then looked out the window. “Are you two dating now?”
Erin smiled. “Yes.”
He sipped his coffee. “I’m sorry to hear that. If you can put up with a nut job like that, you should get a medal.”
“He’s just teasing you. It’s what he does. He likes to tease.”
“Yeah, well…” Shiva stopped. Out the window and across the street, there was a building, and the rooftop of the building was almost eye level with Fuller’s office. The ex-wrestler could have sworn that he had seen something on the roof.
“What’s wrong?” Erin asked.
Shiva set his cup down on the desk and rose to his feet. “The sun reflected off of something on the rooftop over there.” He headed for the door. “I’m going to check it out.”
“Wait, don’t you need some backup or something? Shouldn‘t we call somebody?”
Shiva shook his head. “No, I’m sure it’s nothing. I’ll check on it just to be sure, and then I’ll be right back.”
When he was gone, Erin looked out the window at the rooftop across the street. She prayed that Shiva wouldn’t find any trouble, but trouble was exactly what he found.
Groh and Yorke could tell that Lenox was angry by the way he stormed into their office. He slammed the door open and approached Groh’s desk.
“Did you find Sebastian Crowe?” Lenox demanded.
“Not yet,” Groh told him. “We’re still looking. We’ve had units go out to his house, but he’s not there. He didn’t report to work today either.”
From his desk, Yorke rolled his eyes. “That’s because he isn’t scheduled to work today, goofball.” He rose to his feet and approached Lenox. “Look, we did some checking after you called and some things are starting to make sense.”
“Like what?”
“We found out that before he came to work at the Albany police station, he worked at another one in Connecticut about three years ago. We placed a call there. It seems that there were two unsolved murders there that fit the pattern of Cain.”
“Cross,” Groh corrected.
Yorke rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. We also found out that he has some…ah, let’s just call them issues, which were never resolved. Anger issues. Jealousy type issues. It seems that he doesn’t handle being overlooked too well, and there have been a few promotions which have passed over him during his career.”
“What does that really have to do with the killings?” Lenox asked.
Groh turned to him. “The murders in Connecticut and here happened right after a promotion. A promotion that someone else got. Not him.”
“So he targets Christians because he doesn’t get promoted? I know Staci said that Cain is committing these crimes out of jealousy, but this is nuts. So he misses out on a few career opportunities. Better luck next time. Get over it and move on.”
“Yeah, well, his anger issues didn‘t start there…We found out more,” Yorke told him. “He had a brother. The brother was favored in the Crowe household. He got the best grades. He did the chores. He showed himself to be responsible. He joined the military and became an officer and a gentlemen. While in the military, he became a Christian, turned his whole life around and went into some Missionary work in other countries. When he came home to visit, there was an accident. He had fallen into a well on the Crowe property and broke his neck. The only witness to this accident was Sebastian.”
Lenox nodded once, knowingly. “He killed his brother.”
“It appears to fit a pattern, so…yeah, I believe he killed his brother. Sebastian wasn‘t getting noticed. He wasn‘t getting any respect from his father or mother. He was just the youngest brother, a disappointment. Just a kid who couldn‘t be like the older brother.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Man, this guy is responsible for murdering my friends last year in their own home!” Yorke hesitated as he suddenly thought of Staci. “You know, if you and Staci never came in on this case, we wouldn’t have figured it out. We’ve not had a reason to suspect Blackbird. He’s had temper tantrums, but that’s really all we ever thought of them as.”
“Great,” Lenox replied sarcastically. “I’m so glad we could help. How does this help us find Staci?”
“Ah, it doesn’t.”
“Well, how well does he know the area?”
Groh shrugged. “He’s been here for three years. He knows enough of the area to take his victims to isolated areas.”
Lenox paused in thought. “Like abandoned campgrounds or empty warehouses outside of Albany.”
Yorke frowned. “What?”
“That’s what he told us where he would take someone to kill if he were Cain…which he obviously is. There aren’t too many warehouses outside of the city.”
Groh sighed. “There are quite a few campgrounds that are abandoned at this time of year. We’ll need a lot of people to help with the search, and even then, it could already be too late.”
Lenox glared at him. “Then, I would suggest you get that help and begin the search immediately.” He headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Yorke asked.
“I have a chopper on the roof waiting for me. I’m going to check out the warehouses.”
As he was heading out, Yorke reached for his jacket, and Groh made some calls. Within moments, a search was begun for Staci Cohen by the Albany police and local law enforcement agencies.
1 - Acts 8:26 - 39
2 - Matthew 3:13 - 17
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